Honorable Denny Chin presides over Bernie Madoff case

Chinese American Judge Denny Chin is the first Asian American appointed as a U.S. District Judge outside of the ninth circuit (AK, AZ, CA, GU, HI, ID, MP, MT, NV, OR, WA). He was just 39 when tapped by former President Bill Clinton in 1994 for a judgeship in Manhattan federal court — one of the busiest U.S. courthouses with cases ranging from terrorism trials to celebrity disputes to white-collar crime.

Born in Hong Kong, at the age of 2, Chin came to the United States with his parents. He received his Bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Princeton University in 1975. In 1978, Chin graduated from Fordham University School of Law, where he was the Managing Editor of the Fordham Law Review.

In 2004, the Asian American Law Students Association (APALSA) at Fordham named the Hon. Denny Chin Alumni Award for Excellence in the Legal Profession after Chin.

Chin’s grandfather worked as waiter in New York’s Chinatown for many years and helped his immediate family come to the U.S. His mother worked as seamstress in Chinatown garment factories and his father was a cook in Chinese restaurants.

It will be interesting to see how the case plays out. Right now Bernie is sitting in a 8×10 cell, while his attorneys are trying to appeal the order to remand him pending sentencing.